Back To Playa Maderas (2/11/11-2/14)

Leaving Costa Rica
 

a look back towards the
Monteverde clouds

The drive down from Santa Elena to the Pan Am was every bit as scenic as the drive around the lake and I include it as part of that "great drive". Also, very slow as none of this was paved or well maintained. When I got to Liberia towards the border I thought to see if anyone could patch up one of my tires. I've been having to put some air in it every 6-8 days. What's cool about that is I bought an air compressor for this trip and it's a sweet feeling being prepared. They can't find the leak, so I'll just watch it.


kite surfing on Bahia Salinas

Just before the border with Nicaragua is the town of La Cruz. A small town with only a few mediocre room options, I first decided to head west to the Bahia Salinas to see what's up. It's hot and very windy and this turns out to be a major kite surfing destination. While I was sitting there watching the surfers a guy named Bob pulls up. He's from Long Beach, NJ (I said, hey, that was one of the clean beaches in Jersey back in the day. He says it's still clean) and spends his winters down here teaching folks to kite surf. He even offered to let me camp at the local hotel he manages, but it was too windy for only one night. I've got border-on-the-brain. So, back to La Cruz where the rooms look pretty weak when I wander around checking them out. The place I chose was $16 and the mattress was so thin I piled the one from the other bed on top of my bed which created a saggy hammock effect. Great for the back. And the hot water suicide shower didn't work. Get me outta here. Shoulda camped.

The Border


my 35 days in Costa Rica.
click to enlarge

It's less than 30 minutes to Penas Blancas and the border. I ended up driving by the usual line of semis waiting patiently for their turn. Out of curiousity I reset my odometer and found this line of trucks to be 2 miles long. I can't imagine sitting in that mess. It takes about 20 minutes to get through the Costa Rica formalities where they stamp the passport and cancel my vehicle papers, no charge. On the Nicaragua side I remembered how confusing it was going through this border the first time so I hired a guide for $2.50 (he started wanting $10...nice try). He was worth every penny as there were a total of 7 different stops to be made. Still, it takes less than an hour and costs $33, a bit high but acceptable.


Playa Maderas


cloudy day at Playa Maderas

I had considered giving another try at getting over to Ometepe Island out in Lake Nicaragua. But, after going through the border and thinking how the guy in charge of selling tickets for the Ometepe ferry had tried to screw me when I stopped by a couple of months earlier, I took the easy way out and made the turn for Playa Maderas. This may be my favorite little hideway in Nicaragua. Never thought I'd have a hideaway in Nicaragua.





the view thru my tent window

leaving Maderas down a back road

When I pulled up to Camping Matilda the owner Antonio remembered Big Yellow - imagine that - and the only other camper was Mark, the semi-permanent resident from Canada, so I was able to pick my spot. I like a couple of things here: being able to use my tent for less than $5 a day, and, the fact that it's so peaceful and laid-back and uncrowded. One thing I don't like: ants. Tiny little fuckers, industrious. Next time I'm bringing a big old can of DDT with me. Go time, boys. I met another guy from Jersey here, Carlos O'Connor. He owned a Mexican restaurant of the same name in Red Bank for many years and we talked about places around Bernardsville where I grew up. He knew more about it than I did. It was an another easy 3 days here before heading north to Managua.